Destiny's Messenger
by Do Wop
Summary: Fifteen years after ness defeated Giygas, his world has fallen apart. A mysterious figure promises to restore his shattered world for a price.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: I don't own Earthbound, wish I did, yadda yadda yadda._**

**_ Don't review unless you have something serious to say. 'OMG J00 ROXORZ' or 'OMG J00 SUXORZ' do not qualify._**

**_ I personally think this story sucks, but in a minor, inoffensive way. Maybe that's just me being too critical of my own work._**

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_He stands in the road, far out in the country. There is no one around for miles. The raindrops fall from the sky, elongating until they strike the ground. Then they vanish, a small part of a much large rainstorm. There is a strange beauty to it, he realizes-each raindrop knows their place, and each falls precisely as intended. He will miss such simple beauties._

_He stands, the highway extending for miles in either direction. The time has come._

"_Come get me" he mutters quietly. The volume is irrelevant-they would have heard him were he on the far side of the universe._

_They appear then, melting out of the ground and the rocks. The rain falls on them too, illuminating their otherwise invisible edges. Creatures of pure darkness, they circle him slowly, a mass so large that it is hard to tell where one ends and another begins. This too was irrelevant-they are here only to watch, all save one._

_The one he has been waiting for steps out now, separating from the circle of creatures. It is as one of them, but more solid, more real. Its body ripples with both magic and muscles. It is clear that this is the greatest of the dark things, a mighty force that only the powerful may reckon with. It speaks._

"_So, Ness of Onett, it appears that you've managed to make yourself into a greater thorn in my side then I anticipated."_

Ness jerked awake as the dream ended. His ragged breathing stabilized, and his heartbeat slowed to normal speed. Slowly he sat up in his bed-if you could call it that- and shook his head.

_What the hell's happening to me?_ He wondered. For the past few weeks he'd been having the same dream, over and over again. The road, the rain, the circle of dark beasts, and then the one solitary creature, powerful and dangerous.

Abruptly, there was a knocking on the motel room's door. He started, and then slowly moved towards the door, rubbing his stubble-covered chin. The dream had unnerved him. He reached up and looked through the peep-hole.

"Who's there?" he asked nervously. He could see a man in a long coat.

"Can I come in?" The man at the door asked.

"Who are you?" Ness called back, suddenly nervous.

"A messenger. Can I come in?" The man outside replied insistently. Ness was nervous, but could see no real reason to keep this man outside in the rain, so he undid the bolt and jerked the door open.

"What's your message?" he asked the imposing figure, wanting to know what the man as here for.

"It's very short." The man, whose coat was wet and dangling from his shoulders, assured him. "It will begin tomorrow at midnight."

Ness started.

"What?"

"If you want to know, travel west until you reach the city." The man began smiling the self-centered smile of one who knows more then he's telling. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I am needed elsewhere. Don't forget, midnight, in the city." The strange man turned to go.

"Wait!" Ness called, confused. He dashed forwards, hoping to catch the messenger, but he was already gone. Ness looked around, confused.

"Where did he go?" he wondered aloud, searching vainly for the man who had come and gone like the wind.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Oh, BTW;I'm probably reaming the rules of punctuation with quotation marks. No one ever taught me. I'm sorry._**

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Ness stepped off the bus onto the crowded street. He grimaced. He didn't really want to come back to Fourside. Too many bad memories-

-_the side of the car crumpled as a pair of headlights appeared in the side of the car. A scream rang out beside him as he was sent hurtling forwards-_

-he shook his head violently to alleviate the vision. That was ten years ago, he reminded himself. Ten years since the accident. Ten years since he'd seen his wife and-_stop it!_ He yelled at himself. If he let himself dwell on it too much, he risked dropping into the depression that had wracked him in the months following the accident.

He turned towards the hotel. He was going to need a room while he awaited whatever was going to happen. He shouldered his bag and marched forwards.

As he pushed open the doors of the Hotel, he was struck by a wave of nostalgia. How many times had he and his friends stayed in this hotel, so many years ago? He grinned despite himself.

The man behind the desk quickly addressed him, using a heavy accent that Ness couldn't quite place.

"Hello there, sir, welcome to the Fourside Towers. How may I serve you?"

"I need a room for at least one night. Maybe more."

"Alright, sir, if you would just sign on the line here…" the man said, offering the guest registry and a pen. Ness signed his name quickly, and then took the room key that the man behind the desk held forth.

"Here you go sir, room 144 is yours. Check-out is at noon."

"Thanks" Ness said, pocketing the key and shouldering his bag once again.

"Crazy weather we've been having, isn't it?" the clerk said in casual conversation.

"Have we?" Ness asked, curious. "I mean, I saw the big black cloud, but I just thought a storm was brewing."

"That's what we thought, too…a week ago. That's when it appeared. Since then, it's only gotten bigger. When it finally rains, it's gonna one hell of a storm."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Ness said. "Hopefully I'll be gone before then."

"We can only hope." The man said casually. "Anyways, enjoy your stay."

"I will" Ness assured him.

_The rain fell. He remembered the hotel clerk's words suddenly. The brewing storm had finally broken, and it was indeed going to be one hell of a storm._

_It stood before him once more. It would paralyze most men with fear, but he was no ordinary man. He prepared himself quietly._

"_Did you really expect to be able to stop me?" It asks him, loud enough to be heard above the falling rain._

"_One is allowed to hope, right?" the words are light-hearted, but the tone is not. His almost flippant response is tempered by determination._

"_True enough. At this point, hope is all you humans have, so I suppose you can be allowed it for the time being."_

Ness jerked awake as the dream faded. It had changed this time, albeit minorly. What did the dream mean?

He glanced at the digital clock beside his bed. The readout said 11:34 PM. He sighed. He wasn't getting back to sleep. He might as well take a walk. Maybe he would see whatever was supposed to happen at midnight.

As he walked, he wondered-not for the first time-why he was here in Fourside on the cryptic word of a crazed man who'd given him advice in the dead of night. Taken logically, it made no sense. Yet something had compelled him here.

_Ah, well_. He thought to himself. _What's the worst that can happen?_ After all, if nothing happened, he lost nothing.

Abruptly he realized where his walking had taken him. _Oh my god…_ Without realizing it, he had taken himself back to the scene of the Accident that had destroyed his life.

It looked innocent enough, just a simple three-way intersection governed by stop signs. And yet…

"This is where it happened, isn't it?" A voice said from behind him. He whirled around, and came face-to-face with the man who'd brought him here.

"Yes, it is. This is the place."

"Care to tell me exactly what happened?" The man in the coat asked in a voice full of curiosity.

"We were going down this road, right here. We were going straight along. There was no one coming, so we just went right through. Suddenly a drunk driver barreled out to the other arm of the intersection. He hit us full-on." Ness paused. "Paula had turned around for a moment to give little Adam his juice. She went flying through the windshield and died of internal injuries at the hospital."

"And the child?"

"When we skidded off the road, we sideswiped a tree. It fell on the rear of the car, crushing him."

"An unfortunate turn of events."

Ness turned on him, eyes flashing with anger.

"An unfortunate turn of events? You call the death of my wife and child an _unfortunate turn of events_? My life ended that day. It was a miracle I survived the injuries I sustained. If I had known about Paula and Adam I wouldn't have woken up. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that I know Paula would not want me to quit. I'm living on borrowed time, and I intend to pay up as soon as I can." The man was still distant, seemingly not affected by Ness' rage.

"Walk with me." Was all he said, and then he turned and started moving at a slow pace down the pavement.

"Do you know who I am?" the man asked.

"I hoping you could tell me."

"My name is Mahna. I deliver the messages to those who need them."

"And who sends these messages?"

Mahna paused momentarily before continuing.

"When I was young, I believed in nothing. I saw nothing beyond what I beheld with my eyes, heard with my ears, tasted with my tongue, smelt with my nose, and felt with my hands. My disbelief blinded me from the truth. When I saw the light, I became bound to the service of the one who showed it to me. It is he who tells me where to go, and what to say." Ness snorted.

"So, you believe in what? God? Angels? Are you some kind of recruiter for a cult? Do you believe yourself a prophet?"

"I believe what I must. What I am is a servant of Destiny."

"Destiny?"

"Yes. Everyone is born with a purpose. Most fulfill them on their own. A few, such as yourself, require a small push."

"You're a bit late, pal. Try fifteen years ago. Giygas is dead as a doornail."

"No, that is not the purpose you were born with, although it was a part of it. You play a much larger part in what is to come."

"Oh really? And precisely what is in it for me?"

Mahna hesitated momentarily.

"I can see that it has been many years since you have been truly happy. You have found occasional contentment, but never happiness. The pain of your family's death and the guilt of your survival weigh heavy on your heart, dragging on your soul as a weight which will one day drag you to your doom." He paused dramatically. "If you complete this task, you will be reunited with them."

Ness turned on him angrily. "You liar! No one can bring back the dead."

"I can reunite you, bring you home. And I will, if you fulfill your destiny."

"And that is?" Ness asked.

"You will know." Mahna replied.

Suddenly, Ness' watch beeped. Midnight.

"Well, midnight's come and nothing's happened yet." Ness said smugly, before being cut off by a piercing scream from a nearby alley. Ness whirled towards the source.

"I stand correc-

He turned around, but there was nobody there. Mahna was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Ness raced through the alleys of Fourside, trying to find the source of the screams. _Please let me not be too late…_ he thought quietly. The screams erupted again, guiding him to the right. As he raced around the corner, the screams suddenly cut out. When he rounded the corner, he saw why. A hulking figure stood before him, holding a teenage girl violently. Up until a few seconds ago, she had been screaming. Now she had stopped, but only because the creature had ripped out her vocal chords. Her body convulsed, gasping for breath, and then lay still. The monster inhaled deeply, savoring the smell of death. Suddenly, it turned to look at him.

"Ah, Ness of Onett. I was wondering when you'd arrive." It proclaimed in a deep booming voice. Ness began moving slowly downwards into a fighting stance.

"Ah, Ness, don't you recognize me? We used to be such good friends, too!" the creature exclaimed, laughing. "Ah, well, I suppose I did look significantly different last time we met."

Ness appraised what he saw before him. The creature was humanoid, but large. It had human proportions, but it was pure sinew and muscle. Each finger was topped with a vicious claw. It was easily two heads taller than Ness. Ness grinned. He always enjoyed a challenge.

"I've never met you in my life." Ness said, looking into its pure black eyes. "If you won't be leaving this earth willingly, I'm afraid I'll be forced to send you along myself."

The creature sighed.

"As you wish."

It sunk low, bringing one hand up, and keeping the other in a guard position. Suddenly, the sound of sirens became audible, and police signals began flashing on the walls. The creature stood straight up.

"Ah, well, then. Another time." It leapt backwards and was gone.

The police were getting closer. Having no desire to be found at a murder scene with a dead body, Ness leapt onto a rooftop and was away.

_The rain was falling on his skin, cooling it as it evaporated away. There would never again be another rain such as this. Though not enough to flood the world, it would make meteorologists sit up and take notice._

_He and the creature circle each other warily. Here before him was the creature, who had once been his companion, and now was lost to darkness._

Ness jolted awake. Where were these dreams coming from?

"Hello, human."

The voice startled him. He shot upright in bed. He looked over in the corner, and saw an average-sized man with glasses looking back at him.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" He demanded, as he slowly stepped off the bed.

"I come bearing a message from my master, whom you encountered just hours ago."

"Oh, really." Ness said, becoming more wary. "And what would that message be?"

"He says that you must make a choice-either you can back off and live, or you can pursue him and die. It's your choice."

"Generous of him, isn't it? Well, I certainly don't have any desire to die, and its been a long time since I played the hero."

The bookish man smiled, then opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when Ness continued. "However...I have a vested interest in stopping your master. And besides," he said with a weary smile, " I think, just this one last time, I'd like to play the hero, if only for old time's sake."

The man in the corner sighed. "Very well, then. Your choice is made" His eyes started glowing with dark light as the entire room became charged with energy. "I'm afraid that you will not live long with it." An aura of dark light built up around him.

Suddenly, ribbons of purple energy appeared and lashed out at Ness, but he was already in motion. He lunged forwards and leapt out the open window. The tendrils of power swerved to catch him, but were deflected by a hastily-raised shield.

Ness was falling from the seventh floor. The wind whipped by him as he plummeted. His brow furrowed as he concentrated. He hadn't executed this maneuver in years, but it was the only thing between him and some very solid concrete.

When he passed the second floor, he made his move. He shot a burst of psychic force downwards to slow his descent, and one across the street. He was forced into the side of the hotel, which he leapt off of to grasp a street lamp. His speed was such that he went around the pole several times before slowing to a stop on the ground.

He heard a loud crashing noise, and looked up to see a ball of darkness explode out of the room he'd just vacated. It fell sharply, but slowed to a stop and began moving forwards as it went. Tendrils of dark energy shot out of it, trying to impale Ness, who was already racing down the street. The bookish man was at the center of the ball of light, a look of sheer rage on his face.

Ness ran down the street. He leapt as a ribbon impacted the ground beneath his feet, and then ducked as another shot over his head. He rolled around the corner to keep another from catching him.

The man in the ball of light rounded the corner, and Ness dove at him. Startled by this shift in tactics, the man tried to bring his tendrils to bear, but was too late. Ness raced past them and slugged the man across the jaw. Raising a shield to defend against attacks, Ness brought his other arm around, and tried to make contact with the man's nose. He was startled to meet resistance as the man caught his fist.

Ness looked into the man's face with astonishment. His glasses were cracked, and his face was bloody, but there was a manic grin on his face. Ness pushed for a moment, trying to break the man's grip, but it was rock-solid.

"Not bad" Ness said with a grin, "It's been a while since I've had a real fight."

"I assure you, this one will be your last." The man responded before whipping his arm around, launching Ness over his shoulder and into a building. Ness managed to twist himself around to allow his legs to absorb the impact. He rebounded and landed in the street, graceful as a cat.

He came to his feet quickly and leapt forwards. He brought his foot up to impact with the man's chest. He jumped forwards, with the intention of striking him again, higher, but the man leapt backwards and brought his hand down, cutting Ness' foot's path short. Ness whipped around, attempting a back kick, but the man ducked it easily.

Ness' foe abruptly took the offense. He snapped his fist into Ness' face, making him stagger backwards for a moment. He then unleashed a flurry of blows at Ness' midsection, which Ness clumsily fended off, still reeling from the hit to the face.

In retaliation, Ness leapt into the air and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the face before landing and trying to sweep the man's feet out from under him. The man leapt over Ness' sweep, but that was exactly what Ness wanted. He straightened up quickly, then hit the man in the chest with an open-handed blow. Surprise and shock played across the man's features before he flew backwards into a building. Brick shattered and came tumbling down, but the man was up in moments.

"Impressive. That's far more damage than anyone's been able to do to me in centuries." He said as he brushed himself off. Then he jumped into the air. Ness leapt too, and they collided about ten feet up. Down they fell, a flurry of fists and dark light. They impacted on the street with such force that the pavement cracked, forming a crater.

The dark light seared once more and was silent.


	4. Chapter 4

Ness sat at the bottom of the crater. He could climb out easily, but he couldn't be bothered.

Suddenly he heard a sound behind him. Wasn't even a sound, really-just the sense that something was there that hadn't been moments ago.

"Hello Mahna." He said, without turning around.

"You have performed admirably." Mahna said, approaching Ness. "In all the millennia of his existence, no one had yet defeated Decipio. A most impressive feat."

"Decipio? Was that what he as called? You and your pals have the strangest names."

"Where we are from, such names are common. They only seem strange to you."

"Whatever…" Ness muttered under his breath. "Knowing my luck, I suppose they're only going to get tougher from this point."

"Regrettably, you are correct. That was one of his most powerful servants, but the real confrontation will be much more difficult."

Ness stood up quickly. "And how the hell do you expect me to beat him, then? I barely took this guy down."

"That is why I have come to you. To arm you against your foes."

From the pockets of his coat, Mahna produced four spiraling wires. By the looks of them, they were solid gold. He handed them to Ness with care, and Ness examined them closely. The wires were about half an inch wide, and were covered in arcane symbols. He looked up. "What are they?"

"Their names are lost in the sands of time. What they do is more important. Place your forearms within them, and they will bond with you. That accomplished, you can use them to augment your natural psionic abilities."

Ness gingerly inserted his forearm into one of them. The spiraling wire subtly changed shape to match his arm and hand perfectly. Then they tightened suddenly, and were one with his hand.

It was bizarre. They were on his hand, but he didn't feel any weight, and they flowed with the movements of his wrist perfectly, as if it had been simply tattooed on. He hesitated for a moment before donning the other three, two per arm.

Mahna looked pleased. "Call upon them when you need their power. With them, you can defeat any foe." He looked around, almost anxiously. "I must go. He will be here soon. Remember-now is not the time. Now is not the place. But that place and time will come, and you must be ready." With that, he turned and was gone.

As if on cue, another figure appeared at the lip of the crater, looking down at him. Ness sighed.

"What do you want?" he asked in an irritated voice. "If you're looking for your buddy, Decepticon or whatever his name was, he's not here."

The figure chuckled. "I expected no less from one as powerful as you, Ness of Onett. You are a dangerous foe. I would have been surprised if he'd managed to destroy you. I suppose I should have sent others with him. Well," he said with a grin, "live and learn."

A variety of dark figures appeared around the edge of the crater. There was a huge, hulking creature, a pair of winged figures, an obviously feminine figure and a variety of smaller figures.

"I'm not making that mistake this time." The figure said quietly. "I would stay and watch, but I have some pressing matters to deal with. See you later. Or perhaps not." He laughed and vanished.

Ness stood still for a moment, appraising his situation.

"Well, shit." He muttered with a grin. Then he leapt into the air.

As one, the variety of dark silhouettes converged on him.

His leap took him through the center of the closing circle of enemies, and out of imminent danger. He braced himself for landing, but he needn't have bothered. He was intercepted in midair by one of the winged figures, and slammed into a skyscraper. The glass of the window-wall cracked under the pressure, and the creature screeched in his face. Its face was a horrific gargoyle-like image. It screeched again, a high-pitched shriek that made his eardrums ring.

He looked down and saw the gargoyle's twin flying up to meet him. Ness brought his fist back and landed a right hook that twisted his captor's head around. It roared in pain and released him. Ness fell.

He landed on the other creature's shoulders, straddling its head as he tried to keep his balance. It roared in anger and rolled in midair, dropping him off. He hit the ground running, making for the hulking creature.

His progressed was halted once more by the horde of small figures who interposed themselves between Ness and his target. They came out of nowhere, jumping on him and clinging to his skin. He shook them off, but found that he was standing in a huge patch of dark things. He lashed out with his fists, sending those closest flying, but they kept coming. In the end, he blasted off, jumping upwards and sending a continual burst of colorful psychic energy from each hand downwards. The small black critters squealed in pain as the psychic energy seared them while pushing Ness higher.

Once again, his flight was cut short by one of the flying gargoyles. Its claws gripped him by the shoulders, leaving him dangling beneath like a lump of cargo. Ness struggled against its grip, but it was stronger than iron.

Abruptly the grip was released. Ness looked forwards and realized that the gargoyle had used his momentum to send him flying towards a building. Ness impacted hard, shattering the safety glass and ripping through several cubicles before hitting the ground and skidding to a halt. He sat up and spit out the blood that was filling his mouth. It he hadn't raised a shield before impact, he would have come out filled with glass.

He stood up and moved to the hole in the glass his entrance had made. He looked down and backed off quickly. The massive hulking figure had dragged itself up the side of the building, and now jumped into the hole, intent on contnuing the fight. A huge fist whirled around, forcing Ness to duck or risk decapitation. He stepped forwards, grabbed the outstretched limb, and hit the creature in the chest with his free arm.

Nothing.

There was no give whatsoever. It was like hitting a wall made of metal. The creature failed to respond, unless you count grabbing Ness by the head and launching him further into the office building.

Ness landed, and judged his options, deciding that flight was the best of the rather limited list. He turned and ran along the cubicle corridor. The hulking beast roared and chased after him. Instead of following the corridors, though, it simply ripped through the cubicles and desks, sweeping them away with its fists as if they simply weren't there. Ness launched himself out of the window, heading for the rooftop opposite the building. The glass shattered as he threw himself through it shoulder-first. He flew through the air, keeping his target in view.

Abruptly he heard a shriek and a blur of movement to his left. One of the gargoyles was swooping towards him, moving at extreme speeds. This time, though, Ness was ready. One hand sent a flare of psychic power into the beast, picking it up and sending it spinning away. It shrieked as it fell, but Ness paid it no mind. He landed and rolled, turning himself around to face the way he'd come from. Predictably, the hulking creature launched itself out of the window to reach Ness.

Ness ran forwards and dug his heel into its gut as it flew through the air. The combination of the huge monster's forward momentum and the momentum of Ness' foot managed to do what his fist alone had been unable to. It let out a 'whuff' of surprise, but still landed on its feet. Ness leapt upwards, and caught the beast high in the chest with a tackle, knocking it to the ground. He landed atop it, straddling the beast's neck. Both hands came down, and surged power into the creature's face. It roared in pain, and then grabbed Ness with its huge arms. A mere gesture, and Ness was flying towards the opposite side of the rooftop. It leapt to its feet and dashed across the rooftop towards where Ness was impacting roughly.

Ness landed, and rolled away from the creature. He turned to see it roaring towards him. He waited until the last possible moment, and then leapt as high in the air as he could. The creature ran under him, its momentum carrying it over the edge of the rooftop. With a roar of anger, it fell.

Ness looked around. He had no doubts that the thing would be back, but he had something else to deal with in the meantime. He stood completely still, waiting for his enemy to come to him. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

His hand shot to the right, grabbing one of the Gargoyles' throat. He grinned.

"Gotcha."

He brought his other hand around and, ignoring the screeching and the clawing and the flailing, snapped its neck like a twig. It melted into nothing.

_Well, that's one down. _He thought in a satisfied tone before turning to greet the gargoyle's brother.

Enraged by its brethren's destruction, it shrieked and dove at Ness. Ness turned and, with his fist, ripped a hole in the creature. It fell to the ground, shrieking in pain and agony, and Ness finished it off with a flare of psychic light. It too melted away into nothing.

_And that's two._

He was aware that the hulking beast was climbing the side of the building at a decent clip-and took advantage. He jumped over the side, landing feet-first on the creatures head. It roared as it was driven to the ground, its grip leaving trenches in the side of the building.

Ness sprung off of it's face. Before it could recover, he wrested a street-light from its base, and hurled it like a spear into the creature's face. It grunted and fell over, but was up again quickly. It roared and charged Ness again. Ness threw up a barrage of psychic bolts, but they didn't even slow the creature down. It slapped him backhanded, sending him flying into a building. Cement crumbled as Ness fell to the ground.

Ness leapt to his feet. He ran forward. He knew that this thing was probably his greatest threat. He threw his legs upwards, endeavoring to kick it, but it caught him in the air with a brushing motion of its arm. Ness was, again, rocketed into a building.

Ness charged again, and this time the beast changed strategies. Instead of slapping him aside, it instead embraced him in a bear hug. Ness felt strain around his chest and grunted in pain. He jammed his hands under his enemy's chin and fired blast after blast of colorful energy, but his assailant remained unfazed. The pressure increased, and Ness cried out in pain.

Abruptly, the blasts increased in power. The creature finally responded by roaring and tightening its grip. Ness looked at his arms, and saw that the wires Mahna had given him were glowing like the sun.

He released psychic energy again. The light generated was blinding, and the power that raced through the air was immeasurable. The creature roared in pain.

Ness fired, producing a steady stream of power. The beast roared again and again, but it showed no signs of letting go. Finally, out of desperation, Ness rammed his fist into its mouth. He fired again and again, and eventually the hulking mass released him as its internal organs melted. The rest of his body followed suit, in much the same manner as the Gargoyles. In moments nothing was there.

He staggered to his feet, and was immediately surrounded by scores of small, chittering forms. Ness cried out in frustration and tried to batter them away, but they came at him, so many and so fast, and he felt himself being dragged down by their collective weight. As they piled onto him, they obscured his vision, and he felt his skin being penetrated by dozens of rending claws.

He managed to focus, feeding power through his hands to bat to small gremlins away. Again Mahna's wires glowed brightly, responding to his need by increasing his power. Small bodies shrieked and disintegrated beneath his onslaught. The rest backed away, and then vanished into the shadows. They wanted no part of him.

Alone at last, Ness looked around anxiously. He needed to find his true enemy before it was too late.

_Wait, wasn't there another demon?_

"Ness?" The feminine voice called out from behind him. He whirled, and came face-to-face with the last person he would have ever expected to see.

It was Paula.

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_**Semi-Cliffhanger ending! I AM A BAD PERSON.**_

_** Next chapter will be posted when it's finished.**_


	5. Chapter 5

"Paula?" Ness said disbelieving as he fell on his knees. Indeed, his late wife stood before him, gloriously naked and glowing with a blinding light.

"That's right, honey." She said as she slowly walked forward. "I'm back."

It was her voice. And it sure looked like her. But more then that, everything about her screamed 'Paula'. Her walk, her smile, everything was perfect except...

_She's dead. _Ness thought as she walked forward. _I dug the hole and lowered her into the fucking ground myself. She's _dead.

"You..." He trailed off. There was so much he wanted to say, but somehow his mouth seemed to be disconnected from his mind; No matter how he tried, he couldn't vocalize his thoughts.

She reached him and pressed a finger to his lips, stopping him from saying any more.

"Don't say a word." She said quietly as she knelt before him, putting herself eye-to-eye with him.

"You're dead." he finally managed to say.

"Do I look dead?" She asked, and Ness shook his head. She reached out and took his hand and put it to her breast.

"And how do I feel?"

Ness could not speak, but the tears dripping down his face gave her the answer she was looking for. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her close and buried his face in her shoulder, felt her beating heart.

"I missed you so much." he sobbed truthfully. Paula smiled.

"We'll never be apart again." she said as she moved her mouth forward for a kiss. His lips met hers, and he immediately realized something was wrong. There was a bad taste in her mouth: The taste of decay and death.

_That's not my wife._

He tried to pull back, but he was too late. He screamed in pain as a blade sunk into his back. Paula-who was clearly not Paula at all-stood and smiled with a wicked grin that looked completely out of place on her innocent face.

"You humans are so easy to manipulate." She said in a completely different voice. It was a horrible, grating voice, with resonant overtones. "All I do is show you what you want to see, and you fall right into my arms." Now she began shedding her disguise. Her features changed slightly, adjusting to her natural form. Her skin darkened, becoming a rotten shade of dark green. Her face sharpened, her teeth grew sharp and her hair shortened, and became jet black. Last of all went her eyes, changing color to a fiery shade of red.

"I expected so much more from the legendary hero of Onett." She said, looking down at him disdainfully. "Is this it? This is the man who defeated Giygas?"

Ness reached backwards, struggling to reach the dagger stuck in his back, but his arm wouldn't move properly.

"You're nothing but a sickening sack of human." she continued. "Nothing special at all." Her foot swung forward, kicking Ness in the shoulder. He fell over, landing on his side. His hand finally closed around the blade, and he began weakly tugging on it. He had almost no leverage, and it was in him deep.

She reached down and grabbed him by the throat, hoisting him up. Despite her appearance, her grip was strong, and he found himself unable to breathe.

"Soon now, we'll scour this land of you filthy humans and then this wretched world shall, at last, be ours."

With a sickening sound, Ness wrenched the blade from his back. A look of shock appeared on his enemies face and she released him, but she was too late. He plunged the wavy-bladed dagger into her throat. She staggered back, clawing at the handle, which was now slick with her black ichor. Ness threw himself forward, his PSI already mending the hole in his back. He wrapped both hands around her throat, and flooded her body with psychic light.

She screamed, and suddenly she wore Paula's face once more-but he pressed harder and stripped away the facade. She flailed and scratched, but he held firm, pouring PSI into her until she stopped struggling and evaporated.

Ness stood. His back hurt, but the wound was closing and in a minute it would be good as new. He was tired and boneweary, but he knew the fight was not over yet. There was still one last battle to be won.

He remembered the dream. He knew where he needed to go.

As he walked forward, the rain began to fall around him.


	6. Chapter 6

**_I'd like to give a big shout-out to Earthbound Fanficiton Reviews, which gave this story a great and well written review_**_**. Thanks a lot.**_

_**You can check them out at http/ size=1 width=100% noshade>**_

The rain fell down. Ness saw it as he stood out in that stretch of highway, and remembered his dream. This was the time and the place. He knew what he had to do. He experienced a brief moment of trepidition before he made the call; Would he be strong enough? Would his power be enough? He discarded his doubts. His power would have to be enough. There was no more to be had.

"Come get me." He whispers quietly, and they come. They detach from the shadows, pulling around him in a ring of darkness. Small, chattering creatures that stare with fiery eyes. And then suddenly they pull back, making room for their master.

"So, Ness of Onett" he said in his horrible voice, "You appears you've managed to make yourself into a far greater thorn in my side then I anticipated."

"Yeah," Ness says, "Seems that way."

"You should not have been able to defeat the demons I sent after you. I know your power, and it was a challenge far, far too difficult for you. So how did you do it?" Ness did not respond, but instead simply pulled back his sleeves to reveal Mahna's golden wires. The circle of dark figures pulled back as all its constituents recoiled, and Ness' foe hissed angrily.

"The Æsthetaron? You mean to use those against us? Who gave them to you?" Ness merely stood there in stony silence.

"Was it that meddling pawn? Did he come to you in the night, give you those ancient tools? He takes away as easily as he gives. Do you think he will fulfil whatever promise he made to you?" Ness again refused to respond, only looking forwards in silence. "Answer me, dammit!"

"It is no business of yours where I come by my tools," Ness replied, "But as long as we're questioning each other, why don't you tell me: Who are you? What do you hope to accomplish?" The dark beast chuckled deeply.

"Very well, I'll tell you. You know me very well, although not with this face. I am the one who dogged your every footstep. I am the one who impeded you at every turn. I," it said with a grin wide enough to devour the world, "am the one who turned off the Devil's Machine."

"Pokey?" Ness asked in amazement. This was difficult to fathom. Pokey had stood head-and-shoulders shorter then Ness, and it was difficult to reconcile Pokey's pudgy body with the solid mass of sinew and muscle.

"Yes, Ness. Pokey. I told you I looked a bit different last time I saw you." Pokey said with a grin. Ness could see small fires burning in the center of his eyes. "After you defeated Giygas, I thought I'd made a clean getaway. After all, who could catch up with a time machine, right? Well," he continued with a sharp edge to his voice, "_they _can."

"Who?" Ness asked curiosly.

"My masters. You thought Giygas was the Universal Cosmic Destroyer, but he was nothing more then a slave, a pet they sicced on worlds to do their job for them. They have some difficulty crossing over to this plane of existance, and so they have Giygas wipe out the planets they choose."

"Who are they?" Ness asked again, with a slightly harsher tone.

"Demons, Ness. An enormous army of demons. All of them, dedicated to nothing more then the destruction of everything that lives and breathes. They were very angry with me for losing their tool to a bunch of kids; But they saw some use still in me. They stripped away everything about me that was human, and now I serve them as Giygas once did."

"What do you hope to accomplish?" Ness asked him.

"I am going to bring my masters into this world myself." Pokey said with a laugh, "The powerful ones can't cross the barrier without help, but the blood of humans can force open a hole in the wall that divides our worlds."

"Like the girl in the alley." Ness realized. "Human sacrifice."

"Precisely." Pokey responded. "Human sacrifice on a large scale, across an entire week. We preyed on the weak, the homeless. Those no one would miss. And as the power grew, so did the storm. Very soon, the storm's power will be unleashed on this earth and rip open a gap in the barrier. My masters will come, and this world will burn with the fury of a thousand suns."

They began moving slowly, circling each other. The chittering sounds from the circle of demons increased, like spectators at some great gladiator match.

"Now, Ness, surely you didn't just come out here to hear me talk. What say you, _old friend_," He asked mockingly, "One last battle before Armegeddon?"

With a cry, Ness threw himself foreward, throwing out his right fist. Pokey easily swung to the right, sidestepping it. Ness pulled back to a standing position, then swung forward again. Pokey ducked under it, then attacked with his own fist. Ness rolled away, narrowly evading a right cross.

Pokey took the offensive, barrelling into Ness recklessly. Ness brought his arms up to deflect Pokey's blows, but a few got through, hammering into him like piledrivers, leaving behind claw marks on his cheek and shoulders. Ness staggered, then countered with a heel to the gut followed by a fist to the face Pokey seemed hardly fazed; He immediately jumped upwards and delivered a devastating kick to Ness' chest. Although his psionically reinforced ribs didn't break, he was sent flying backwards, crashing into the circle of lesser demons. They squealed and fled as he fell to earth, cracking the hishway's asphalt. He pulled himself back up to his feet, but much more flowly then before.

_He's too strong_, Ness thought as he strode forward, trying to look more confidant then he was feeling, _and I'm too tired. I need to end this quickly, or I don't stand a chance._

He sunk once more into a fighting stance, readying himself for Pokey's next attack. When it came, he ducked below Pokey's fist and then straightened up, elbowing Pokey in the back of the head. Pokey was caught by surprise and stumbled foreward until Ness kicked his ankles, tripping him. Ness whirled around and shot psychic light into the pavement where Pokey's head had lain just a moment ago. Pokey, unwilling to sit still and take such an assault, had rolled to his feet. He charged at Ness, who erected a psychic shield to hold him off. Caught aback, Pokey hesitated for a moment, and Ness caught him in the chest with a blast of power from his left hand. Pokey flew backwards, but landed on his feet. He skidded a few feet before standing errect and laughing loudly.

"That's all there is to your power? Ever with those ancient artifacts, that's the best you can do?"

Pokey's clenched fists began to glow, and then he threw them forward, shooting out a stream of dark fire. Ness raised a shield, but the power he was up against was staggering. His shield began to buckle almost immediately, and he had to draw on his mental reserves to reinforce it. When a pause in the bombardment came, he abandoned his shield and dove to his right. The fire missed his feet by mere inches. He landed with his shoulder and rolled back to his feet, then immediately began running in a circle around Pokey, keeping one step ahead of Pokey's demon fire. After dodging a few blasts, he turned, pivoting on his left foot, and ran straight at Pokey. When Pokey answered his offensive with a large gout of flame, he leapt over it, landing right in front of Pokey. He threw his hands out, seeking a purchase on Pokey's body so he could attack with his PSI from point-blank range. Pokey did the same.

Their hands found each others'.

Their hands glowed brightly, Ness' with the brilliant white of his PSI, and Pokey's with the dark fire his masters had given him. Their respective powers clashed and battled for control, and both faces furrowed in concentration. Sweat dripped from Ness' face, but it was unnoticable among the heavy rain.

Then, suddenly, both of their grips failed, and the power amassed between them exploded in all directions. Both were sent flying backwards. Ness landed on his back and slid along the pavement, ripping his shirt. He pulled himself to his feet, clutching at his aching chest. Pokey was already standing, and looking at him in disgust.

"You were foolish to come here, Ness." Pokey said harshly as Ness silently commanded his PSI to heal his chest. This was impossible; Ness was keeping pace, but his body had almost given up. He was keeping it up by expending his psionic energy, but there was a limit to how long he could keep doing that, and he had almost reached it.

He straightened as his pains receded. Pokey glared. "You still wish to fight? Fine. I'll end this quickly." and then he threw his arms skyward.

The faint smell of ozone was the only warning Ness had. He threw up a shield just in time as lightning came crashing down on him in bolts of incandescent fury. The burst of electrical energy was blinding. It stopped as suddenly as it began.

Ness fell to the ground, screaming and clawing at his eyes.

* * *

_**The final Chapter will be posted relatively soon. I'm a bit bogged down in schoolwork at the moment.**_  



	7. Chapter 7

Ness lay on the ground. The sound of thunder rolled overhead, indicating the lightning's passing, but Ness had no interest in it. His hand came up to touch his eyes, to check to be certain they were still there.

His fingers brushed his eyeballs. They were still there, and still intact. Unfortunately, he couldn't see anything. That flash had blinded him. A normal person might be weeks recovering his sight; for Ness, it would take only minutes. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to get those minutes. The fight was over. He'd lost. He would never be able to defeat Pokey now, not weakened and with no sight.

He heard the crunching of large feet on broken asphalt, and he turned his body to face it, though he could see nothing. A dark chuckle came from the same direction.

"Foolish, foolish man...you were never a match for me."

The footsteps continued towards him, and Ness began scrambling in the opposite direction, trying to put as much distance between Pokey and himself as possible. The footsteps continued forward calmly.

"If you could see yourself, Ness...you've lost. You've failed! I should just leave you alive, blinded and powerless, so you can live with the knowledge that you were this earth's last hope, and you failed them." Pokey's voice was now much too close for Ness' liking. He scrambled backwards off the edge of the highway and felt the earth tilt below him as he tumbled into the ditch. He landed in the muddy water with a splash, and then slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, keeping his face above water. There was another splash as Pokey leapt into the ditch. "I should let you live to see the slaughter, to see the look in their eyes as we kill each and every last one of them. And in each pair of eyes, you would see reflected there only your own failure!"

"I should let you live," Pokey continued, "But I won't." And now Pokey began walk forward once more, still taking his time. Ness struggled to his feet.

"What? You still mean to fight?" Pokey asked incredulously, and Ness realized he could see him. Not well-only a shape with edges.

_It'll have to do._ Ness thought as he lunged forward.

Pokey, caught offguard, made a _whuff_ of surprise as Ness' fist collided with his jaw. He stumbled backwards, and Ness pressed forwards, delivering a pair of roundhouse kicks to the torso and temple and then whirled, delivering a powerful back kick to the chest. Pokey flew in a parabolic arc through the air and landed further down the ditch with a loud splash. He was on his feet immediately, eyes ablaze with unholy light. Pokey growled ferally, then charged forward. Ness too began running towards his opponent.

As they met, each brought a fist around with reckless abandon. All defenses were abandoned-all of their power was put behind these blows. Pokey's fist burned with arcane light as it plowed through Ness' ribage. The fist ripped through Ness' chest, burning lung and muscle.

But not before Ness' fist, glowing with psychic light, amplified by the Æsthetaron that were now glowing blindingly on his forearms, found Pokey's throat.

The psychic light expanded from Ness' fist as it struck bone, and the rest of the neck vanished. Pokey's head sailed off and landed a short way away. Pokey's decapitated body fell.

Ness, too, collapsed into the water, clutching with his right hand at the wound. He propped himself up with his left. He wanted to see what came now.

Light began pouring out of Pokey's dark body. This light was not like the dark, unholy light of the magic Pokey had wielded, but rather a warm, purple color. It pourd forth, releasing all the energy Pokey had stolen. And as it left the monstrous body, so did the souls of those he had slain. They gathered around him, wispy shadows of their former selves. One by one, they approached him, and although they could not speak, he could feel their thanks before they vanished, gone to wherever souls go after death.

As their light vanished, Ness looked up at the masses of dark creatures that had been huddling at the edge of the trench. There was an incresed rustling amongst them. There seemed to be some sort of debate raging. But the result was inevitable; they had lost. They began slipping away, vanishing into whatever darkness they had stepped out of.

And with that concluded, Ness turned his attention to the hole in his chest. It was too large, even for his powers. Pokey's last strike had torn a large hole in his lung, and it was collapsing. Soon the other would follow suit, and then he would die. The thought bothered him less then he'd thought it would.

_Funny, Paula,_ he thought as a cascade of pain overtook him and he fell backwards, _I always imagined us together when the time came._

With that thought on his mind, he closed his eyes and let death claim him.


	8. Epilogue

Death didn't come.

He was roused from his rest by the sound of feet splashing in the ditch. He opened his eyes ever so slightly, just enough to let the light come in. The storm had ended, and the sun was shining down on his face, softened by the clouds. The light seemed warm and welcoming, not harsh.

_When hurricanes pass, bluer skies are never seen_, he thought incongruously. Where had he heard that before? A song? Yeah, that was it.

He raised his head slightly, just high enough to see that the intruder was Mahna, who was striding towards him slowly, almost reverentially. Ness tried his voice and found it was not functioning. He swallowed and tried again, and this time managed to wheeze out the other's name.

"You have performed admirably, Chosen One." Mahna said seriously as he stepped foreward. Now he was at Ness' feet, but still he kept walking.

"Mahna..." Ness repeated, "Remember your promise, Mahna."

"I do." Mahna said, and for the first time, something like a smile passed across the mysterious man's features. It was such a friendly and understanding smile, and it looked so right upon the other's face, that Ness wondered why he didn't wear it more often. He was standing right over Ness now, and he bent down over the prone hero. He placed his hand upon Ness' face, pushing it back, to lie gently in the water. Ness could see Mahna's eyes now, and they were deep, blue things, full of compassion and grace.

"Go to them." Mahna whispered.

Death came.

_And then he was standing in a field. The field stretched off in all directions for miles, and was bordered by mountains. He felt the grass, and it felt good and right beneath his fingers_._ At the bottom of the hill a woman and a child stood, playing in the tall grass. He says nothing, but they look up and see him nonetheless. A grin splits across the child's face and the child cries out to him._

_He is running to them now, shock overcome by joy, and now the child is running to him. He scoops the child up in his arms and throws him in the air; The child squeals with delight and terror as he falls back down into his father's waiting arms. The woman stands by and watches, hand to her breast._

_And now he runs to her, and he enfolds his arms around her, and she wraps her arms around her, and as he pulls close and feels the warmth of her body against him, he begins to cry. He cries with joy, with tears streaming down his cheek, as he holds her close, he cries with joy at the knowledge that he is home, home, and nothing can ever take him away again._

_Fin_

"_Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved."--Victor Hugo, Les Miserables, 1862_


	9. Story Notes

This whole story came out of the opening scene: The first dream. The sequence just popped into my head, italics and all, and I jotted it down. Later, I built the first chapter around that. And that sat around for a few months.

Eventually, I got bored, so I dug it up and constructed a story around it. Or, to be more precise, I came up with an ending for the story. I had chapter one and chapter six onwards planned out. Now I just needed to fill in the middle.

I borrowed quite a bit from other stories I'd plotted out that never saw my screen for this. All the combatants in the Big Multi-Combatant Fight Scene of Doom, for example were from a previous story, as was the ending, which was in turn SHAMELESSLY lifted from _Gladiator_. I'm a bad, bad man.

The first five chapters were written in the space of a few weeks, once I returned to the story...and then promptly abandoned again. A few months later, I returned to it, read what I'd written and asked myself "Why did I write this garbage?"

Some extensive rewriting followed.

The result is what you see before you.

About halfway through this story I conceived the idea of expanding this into a series of stories. Not all starring Ness, mind you. I ran the idea past myself a couple times, and I've decided to do either a five or a six part series. The first four(or five) stories would be mutually exclusive; They'd have common elements, most specifically Mahna, but they would all reside in their own universe where things are completely different. For example, the story about Paula can't coexist with this one, because in the Paula story, Paula's ALIVE and she never married Ness. Then the last story will tie them all together. There'll be one story for each of the Chosen Four, and then POSSIBLY one for Tracy, depending on how I decide, and then one last story that involves all four and Tracy.

I'd like to thank Earthboud Fanfiction Reviews for giving me such a nice review. I'd also like to thank all the nice reviewers. You guys all rock.


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